Simple Things

Sometimes, it's the simple things in life that make it the most pleasant.  But they are also the things that are most overlooked.

I'm trying to practice taking time out of my day to:

Don't let life slip by without your enjoying it's simple pleasures...

The Essence of Christianity

I'm reading through the 28 fundamental beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist church and came upon the  15th: The Lord's Supper.

Being a 5th generation Adventist, I'm quite familiar with the once-a-quarter communion service.  So familiar, that I sometimes feel like I'm just going through the motions.

But not anymore.

Read this story that I came across:

A Buddhist monk once asked a missionary to suggest a scene that would represent Christianity.  Artists were to decorate a hall on the monastery grounds with murals and reliefs that depicted major world religions.  After some reflection the missionary began to share the account in John 13.  The monk "said nothing as I read," the missionary recounted, "but I felt a strange, awesome quietness and power as the passage described Jesus' act of washing the disciples' feet."  In that culture, discussing in public anything having to do with matters of the feet is considered very poor etiquette.


"When I finished reading, there was a moment of silence.  He looked at me with incredulity and said, 'Do you mean to say that the Founder of your religion washed His students' feet?'


"'Yes,' I replied.  The usually placid moon face with shaved eyebrows and head wrinkled up in shock and amazement.  He was speechless, and so was I.  I swallowed very hard several times, and we were both caught up in the drama of the scene.  As I gazed at him, the look of incredulity on his face changed to a reverent awe.  Jesus, the Founder of Christianity, had touched and washed dirty fishermen's feet!  After a few moments he gained control of himself and rose to his feet.  'I see now the essence of Christianity.'"


Do you see it?

Market Witnesses

Wind, rain and late helpers won't stop us from making the most of our first farmer's market of the season!

It never stops surprising me what an effective means of outreach this has become for our family.  First, we get to interact with people on a personal level, making friends.  We offer them organic produce and allergy friendly products, all of which are as healthy as we can possibly make them.  

Then, we provide music... sacred music.  

And they just love it.

We even get a few young people join us in song... once strangers, now friends.

It's pleasant to see.

Lessons from Lazarus

I heard a sermonette the other day that touched me deeply.  I drank in every word, hoping that I could later write it all down so I wouldn't ever forget it.  I finally did.  I will share it with you here, the story that took on new meaning for me.  I hope it does for you too.  Here it is in my own words:

John takes the time to describe an event in the life and ministry of Jesus… an event that had profound effects on many people and that ultimately led to the discussion of Jesus’ demise.  But what we see as a wonderful miracle for Lazarus and his two sisters is actually a beacon of hope to many of us today.

  Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary and Martha.  They held a special place in his heart.  He often visited their home in Bethany and found it to be a place of rest and refreshing.  When Lazarus fell deathly sick, the sisters sent Jesus a message saying, “…he whom thou lovest is sick.”  John often used this sort of title for people of special interest to Jesus.  John chose to list himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”  Not only does John mention Lazarus as one that Jesus loved, but he repeats himself only two verses later saying, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.”  Okay, we get the point. They were his special peeps and he cared for them deeply.

  But the story gets interesting from here.  You’d think that upon hearing that his beloved friend was sick unto death, that Jesus would immediately rise up and go to see Lazarus to at least say goodbye!  Or maybe even heal him.  He could have even spoken a word like he did for the centurion, and Lazarus would have popped up out of his deathbed.  But instead, Jesus just waited two more days.

  What confusion this must have caused the disciples!  They know how deeply Jesus cared for Lazarus and his sisters, and they know that the man is near to death’s door, and yet, Jesus seems to be oblivious to the pain and sorrow this was causing Mary and Martha.  He seemed completely distant and uninterested… like the god that creates everything then just sits there watching and waiting while we wallow in sin, pain and loss.

  When Jesus finally says, “let’s go,” he takes the time to tell his disciples that Lazarus is “sleeping” (i.e. dead).  They think that’s fine and dandy until Christ then pops their bubble with “Lazarus is dead.”  The disciples must have thought, “Boy, he took that well.”  Still, no emotion on Jesus’ part is portrayed in the Biblical account.  He appears stoic.

  When Jesus arrives in Bethany, two grieving sisters greet him.  Martha, who first meets Jesus, says, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” 

  If… the word that we are all familiar with.  “If God is real, why does He allow all this pain?  If God really cared, I would never have suffered this injury.  If God loves me, why did He allow me to be abused?  If God is love, why all this?  If, if, if… our deepest, most heart agonizing questions often are prefaced with the word if.  We question God.  We shake our fists at Him, saying” why”?

  Mary had the same resentment and anger.  She basically asked the same thing… “Where were you???”  Where were you when I was diagnosed with a terminal illness?  Where were you when I suffered through that loss of a loved one?  Where were you when I endured ridicule, abuse and pain? Where were you, God?  Why do you seem to sit silently on the bleachers while we are down in the arena being torn apart by life’s circumstances? How could you be loving?  How could you even care?  If you really cared, why didn’t you DO something???

  “Jesus wept.”

  The shortest verse in the Bible, and yet packed with far more meaning then we give it credit for.

  Finally, we see emotion; we see grief.  Jesus wept.  In the Greek translation, it means that Jesus shed real, wet teardrops.  This is one of the few instances in the Bible where Jesus shed tears.  Jesus was moved by the sorrow and pain he saw in the faces of his beloved friends.  Jesus wasn’t crying over Lazarus, for he knew what glorious miracle he would perform. No, instead, Jesus wept with those he loved.  He shed humanity’s infamous tears.  His divinity was shadowed as he wet his face with his own teardrops.  His eyes probably got swollen; his nose may have started running; his beard got wet.  He groaned and may have even wailed.   He was truly weeping.

  Jesus asked to be taken to the graveyard.  He went to the place where everyone had given up hope.  He found himself in the place where Mary and Martha’s broken dreams, shattered hopes and splintered trust were buried.  He was in the graveyard where they had given up.  Everything had died with Lazarus.  Nothing was left but a tombstone as a memorial of their loss.

  Where’s your graveyard?  Where is the place where you gave up, where you felt totally helpless and alone?  Where did you say, “I’m done.  I give up.  I can’t make it any longer.  I’m hopeless.  I just want to bury my dreams and hopes?”  This is the place where you felt utter despair and hopelessness.  Your trust was broken, your life was marred, your heart was scared, your dreams were shattered, your fire was extinguished, and your expectations were singed.  You gave up trying.  You threw your hands up in desperation and left your everything there in the grave, left with nothing but a gnawing and empty void.

  Jesus has asked to see your grave.  He knows your heartache and despair.  He knows what you’ve been through.  He’s seen it all.  He’s wept with you and cried with you.  He’s shed tears with you.  It’s not because of your buried dreams.  No, it’s just because he sees you in pain.  He sees you ready to drown in hopelessness. 

  And yet, he sees a better tomorrow.  He sees your dreams and hopes resurrected.  He knows that the things restored will be sweeter after the grief of losing them.  It’s at the time when you are ready to give up that he can resurrect your life.  He can’t resurrect anything if it wasn’t first dead. He wants to make it a glorious dawning for you.  He wants to take your life’s shattered bits and pieces and shape them back together.  He wants to heal your broken heart, mending it tenderly so that you can be a living testimony of his loving care.  He wants to take that which should have been ugly and make it something beautiful to behold.

Will you let him?

Reflections on Tomatoes

  You know something I learned while washing dishes and staring at the row of store-bought tomatoes lining our windowsill?  They all look the same.  They are the same shape, same color, same size, same spherical perfection.  If I were to study them, and someone would then mix them up, I probably wouldn't be able to put them in the same order that I had studied them in.  They look too much alike.

  Our garden tomatoes on the other hand... they each have their own personality.  Bug bites, large, small, round, oval, heart-shaped, just-plain-warped, red, greenish, orange, yellow... they're all different.  They are unique.  They aren't just a bunch of cookie cutter tomatoes, picked at the same time and ripened at the same time.  They are hand picked when they are at their prime - twisted or small, it doesn't matter.  And you know what?  They taste way better than those beautiful, perfect, store bought tomatoes.

  I also noted that although our garden tomatoes may have bug bites and be warped, we don't really care.  We know what they're made up of and where they're from.  We know that as soon as our tongue makes contact with the juicy red plumpness that we'll care less what the outside looked like. 

  Now, I'm not really a tomato expert, neither am I that fond of tomatoes (I used to sell them because I wouldn't eat them).  I can stand them in any form but their whole form.  But still, I must admit (with a little sheepishness) that our garden tomatoes far outpass the store bought beauties we are forced to buy when our gardnen's out of commission. 

What lesson did I draw from this?  I'm sure you can guess.

  There's a common notion that people pass along that goes something like, "the beauty's on the inside" or "inside beauty."  It stems from the realization that some people may not be beautiful on the outside but they have that winning personality, or the sweet disposition, or an upstanding character.  This is the "beauty" that we hint at in those phrases stated above.

  I know of several young ladies who have no "knock-out" type looks to speak of and yet they have won a place in my "good lookin' ladies" list. Why?  Because they have the "inward beauty of a meek and quiet spirit."  Their personalities and characters have made them beautiful.  They are the home-grown garden tomatoes.

  On the other hand, I know of another set of ladies who may have the bomb hair or the gorgeous eyes or the incredible facial features, and yet lack in the area of inward beauty.  And you know what?  They aren't on my list of "good lookin' ladies.  Why?  Because they may be snotty, whining, fussy, rude or even too girlie for me.  They become unpleasant to be around and thus their looks mean nothing.  They are the store-bought beauties.

  I can't stress enough how important it is for girls to focus on those things which are long lasting.  Who wants a perfect beauty if she's rotten or tasteless on the inside?  Establish your own sense of purpose, your own set of convictions.  Let the Holy Spirit do His work on your heart.  You may not be perfect on the outside, but if you've been working on the inside, your efforts will start showing.

  I'm always disgusted when I see girls trying so hard to look like everyone else.  They are just another perfect tomato sitting on the windowsill, unidentifiable when surrounded by their peers.  They dress like them, act like them, talk like them.  They are those girls that, when you get to know them, you realize it's all skin deep.  There's nothing substantial.  Just going to a county fair gives an overwhelming feeling of monotony.  Surrounded by tan babes wearing as little clothing as possible, sporting a flirty attitude, I rather feel like a sore spot in the crowd.  But is that a bad thing?

   When we have developed those things that are lasting, namely a godly character and all the wonderful things that come with it, we may look different, yet we have a beauty that no perfect store-bought "tomato" could ever possess.  It can't help but shine through.  We should take care to keep ourselves well tended, but it shouldn't be an obsession.  Rather, it will just be an enhancement of the inner beauty that we've labored for so earnestly.  That's the tasty part of the tomato.

  And acquire your own personality (be it sweet and kind!).  Don't mimic what everyone else does and says.  Have your own opinions, your own standards and your own religion.  Don't be a copycat.  They're miserable to have around.

  ...And don't be afraid to get dirty!  A little sweat didn't hurt nobody (sorry for the bad grammer there... just trying to add to the point).  Get your hands soiled, your hair messy, your neck sweaty.  It all adds to the character development! :)

Being a True "Neighbor"

I got a call from our neighbor up the hill from us.  He started by thanking us for filling in the potholes on the road that's actually on his property, but used by both of us.  After that, he changed the subject completely.

  "Where do you guys go to church?  You see, I've been looking around at churches and I'd like to visit yours."

  Stunned and a little confused as to where this conversation was going, I gave him all the info so he could attend our nearest Adventist church.  He then proceeded to explain.

  He's been an LDS for as long as I've known him.  He started feeling a conviction to keep the Sabbath and has been for the last few weeks (praise the Lord!).  He's become dissatisfied with the LDS church and some of their beliefs that he thinks contradicts the Bible.  So, he's done some research and is interested in learning more about the Adventist church and will be going to one this Sabbath!

  I sat there in our office room chair, quietly listening to him, yet inside, I was bursting with excitement!  He went on and started drilling me with questions.

"What do you guys believe about the Trinity?  What about the New Testament?  Do you read the New Testament?  You believe in Jesus Christ, right?"

  I can't even remember exactly how I answered!  It was all a blur!  But I know I did answer his inquiries, for he seemed satisfied when we got off the phone.  Can you believe it?  And he came to us!  We didn't do anything to make him pick up that phone to call us... except live out our Christianity.

  What an effective means for pricking people's interest - to just let your religion become who you are; to be a living example of true Christianity; to let Christ shine through you.  While on one side we're earnestly seeking souls, on the other, we're compelling them to come and seek Christ from our hands because they see we're different.  It's a dual outreach.

  Our neighbor may not choose to become Adventist, yet I was given that little opportunity to share with him.  Did I use it wisely?  It may have been my last.

Still a Missionary

I had in mind that after my Asia trip, I would stop blogging since my mission adventures would be over.  But then someone reminded me... it's never over.  Aren't we missionaries everywhere?  Hmm... so that leaves me compelled to keep my missionary efforts in high gear and... maybe keep this blog updated with my random missionary thoughts, quotes, inspirations and news.  I probably won't update on here too often, for I don't have time to do that (which should be the case, eh?).

  As I experience life and it's trials and blessings, I'll post little snippets of it here.  As I receive encouragement to continue running the race that has been set before me, I'll share that here to encourage you as well.  And as I witness missionary efforts here in America, I'll post them on this blog to keep the fire for missions burning within us.  Don't plan to check this blog everyday for my updates... I doubt I'll even do a once a week thing.  But, I'll try to keep it up (whatever that means).

So enjoy reading and keep up the race, my friends!

P.S. You can comment on my posts.  I believe I set it up that anyone may write their thoughts and comments.  I'd love to hear from you! :)